Emerald Works Its Way Into the Breakfast Aisle

San Francisco — Diamond Foods wants to end the cycle of consumers choosing an unhealthy breakfast, or none at all, with a "Humanize Your Morning" campaign that supported the spring launch of its Emerald brand's "Breakfast on the go" nut and granola mix pouches.Emerald used FSIs, coupons and in-store promotions to push shoppers into the breakfast aisle. The company says that this was its largest and most rapidly implemented campaign to date. The breakfast pouches started appearing on retail shelves in March."People are familiar with us as a nut brand, but people who shop the convenience breakfast aisle have never seen us there," says Jeff Ngo, director of marketing. "Because we are moving into a different aisle and the breakfast category is so competitive, it was important to make a big splash and stand out."Diamond used the "Humanize Your Morning" theme across all mediums. The campaign emphasized convenience and the benefits of breakfast pouches. "While it's convenient, it breaks away from the preformed breakfast bar concept," says Ngo. Interpublic Group's Los Angeles-based Deutsch handled digital ad creative. Mars Advertising, Southfield, Mich., developed the in-store displays and creative for the Emerald microsite.The eight-week print portion involved FSIs in February and May that drew on Emerald's brand recognition by referencing both nuts and the new breakfast line. (Diamond plans to cross-promote "Breakfast on the go" on Emerald nut packages as well.) The company also ran TV spots that featured humorous but joyless robots eating generic breakfast bars while their human friends happily munched on "Breakfast on the go" pouches.Diamond used online banner ads through MyWebGrocer that allowed shoppers to load coupons onto store loyalty cards, says Ngo. The company also offered downloadable coupons at EmeraldBreakfastOnTheGo.com, Redplum.com, Coupons.com, Facebook and other sites. In stores, Diamond placed shipper displays adjacent to the breakfast aisle, with the breakfast pouches also merchandised on the shelves. Diamond also conducted demos and four-day sampling events at Walmart. "They drove initial sales lifts of 300% to 400% sales for those weeks," says Ngo.To develop the breakfast line and campaign, Diamond used market research and in-store tests. "We wanted to make sure we had the right offering for the grocery channel," says Ngo. A study conducted for Emerald by New York-based Kelton Research provided insights on the breakfast consumer, says Ngo. They learned that three out of four consumers can't remember what they ate for breakfast over the past three days; others cite making unhealthy choices like cake or leftover pizza; and many are too rushed to eat anything. Diamond partnered with Kantar Group to study how the breakfast category is shopped and how consumers view convenience breakfast foods. Diamond also conducted focus groups and used syndicated Nielsen data.Initially, "Breakfast on the go" packages contained six single-serve pouches. Following testing at Walmart, Emerald determined that a five-pouch package would be more price competitive. At convenience stores, pouches are sold individually. Approximately 70% of U.S. grocers are carrying the product, according to Ngo.

Emerald Works Its Way Into the Breakfast Aisle

P2PI MEMBERS

JOIN P2PI

Related Images

Business Topic

Market Segment